Kinship: An Introduction to the Basic Concepts

David Parkin

ISBN 10: 0631203591 / ISBN 13: 9780631203599

Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 1997

About this Item

This item is printed on demand. New copy - Usually dispatched within 5-9 working days 400. Seller Inventory # C9780631203599

Bibliographic Details

Title: Kinship: An Introduction to the Basic ...

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Publication Date: 1997

Binding: Paperback / softback

Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis:

This book is an introduction to the social anthropology of kinship - to the ways in which the peoples of different cultures marry and relate to each other within and outside the family.

From the Back Cover:

This book is an introduction to the social anthropology of kinship - to the ways in which the peoples of different cultures marry and relate to each other within and outside the family, and to the means by which one generation relates to those that come before and after it. It is addressed in particular to students of anthropology, but is also intended as a one-volume guide to those, such as social historians, demographers and geographers, who find it necessary to understand patterns of kinship in different places and at different times.

The book is divided into two parts. Part I opens with a discussion of what kinship means to the social anthropologist as distinct from the biologist, and considers the different possible approaches to the subject within social anthropology itself. The following chapters cover topics such as descent, inheritance, succession, the family, residence, marriage, kinship terminology, systems of affinal alliance, the new reproductive technologies, and symbolic approaches to kinship.

In Part II the first four chapters provide an overview of theoretical debates concerning different aspects of kinship. The final chapter provides ethnographic examples, together with an annotated guide to further reading, divided by chapter.

The book applies and illustrates these concepts and topics to a number of contrasting case studies. These illustrate the insights that can be achieved from the study of kinship, and also show that the complexity of even the most familar kinship patterns rarely lends itself to simple description. The author also includes annotated guides to further reading.